An autoimmune disease is condition you have for life, in which the body produces antibodies that attack its own tissues, leading to the deterioration and in some cases, to the destruction of such tissue.

Hashimoto’s means your own immune system is attacking the thyroid, slowly destroying it over time, thus causing hypothyroidism.

You can find out if you have Hashimoto’s by testing for thyroid antibodies (Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies and Thyroglobulin Antibodies), but these are often not routinely tested by doctors.

However, with it being Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month, it’s crucial that we raise awareness about how important testing these antibodies and knowing if you have Hashimoto’s, is.

You may be reading this right now and have no idea that you even have autoimmune hypothyroidism, but it’s worth knowing that having Hashimoto’s can alter how your hypothyroidism is treated and managed. Knowing whether it is autoimmune can alter your journey back to good health!

Most commonly, going gluten-free is said to help Hashimoto’s patients relieve symptoms, calm down swinging test results and lower high antibodies.

Another important part of awareness months is using them to raise awareness of the condition/s to those who don’t have them. You can use my open letter to friends and family for example, to make them more aware of what it’s like for us to live with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s, too.

You can click on the hyperlinks in the above post to learn more and see references to information given.

If you found this article beneficial, please take a moment to share it so we can help others get better with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's, whilst also raising awareness. "Be Your Own Thyroid Advocate."